Chapter 8 - The perfect Ex-husband.

Teresa stared at the message on her phone until the screen dimmed.

Did you enjoy reading my brother's secrets?

She looked up slowly. Lucas was watching her, not the phone.

"He knows," she said.

Lucas held out his hand. "May I?"

Without taking her eyes off him, she passed him the phone.

He read the message once, then locked the screen and returned it. "This isn't for you."

Teresa frowned. "He sent it to me. He wants me to know he can reach you whenever he wants." Lucas glanced toward the study window before looking back at her. "Don't answer him."

"You think I was planning to?" She said with a sigh of irritation. 

"I think Asher knows exactly how to start a conversation without asking a question."

Teresa slipped the phone into her bag. "You make him sound predictable."

"He is."

"You keep saying that, but somehow he's always three steps ahead of both of us." She said in a perpetually tired voice. 

Lucas didn't argue. Instead, he held the folder on his hands and slid it back into the cabinet. This time he locked the drawer with a small key from his pocket.

"I'll find out who entered my house," he said.

"And then what?" Teresa asked curiously. 

"I'll deal with it."

She let out a tired laugh. "You really don't hear yourself, do you?"

His hand paused on the cabinet. "'I'll deal with it.' 'I'll protect you.' 'Don't worry about it.'"

She shook her head. "You're asking me to trust someone who refuses to trust me with the truth."

Lucas closed his fingers around the key. "I'm asking for time."

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't hostile either. It simply sat between them, carrying everything neither of them knew how to say.

When Teresa finally picked up her handbag, Lucas walked her to the front door.

"I'll have someone replace your locks this afternoon."

She looked at him over her shoulder. "You really don't take no for an answer."

"No."

The corner of her mouth twitched despite herself. "I noticed."

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Friday arrived with bright sunshine and cameras. Teresa parked outside Emma's primary school and checked the time. She always arrived ten minutes early for the custody exchange. It gave Emma time to settle instead of feeling rushed.

Emma skipped beside her, swinging her backpack. "Mommy, can we get ice cream later?"

"If you finish your homework."

Emma grinned. "I'll finish it fast."

Before Teresa could answer, a silver luxury sedan pulled into the school driveway.

Asher stepped out wearing a charcoal suit that looked as though it had been tailored that morning. A large bouquet of fresh roses rested in one hand. In the other, he carried two glossy shopping bags from one of Singapore's most expensive toy stores.

Several parents looked up. One whispered something to another. Asher smiled as though he'd only just noticed Teresa."Good morning." 

Emma's hand tightened around Teresa's fingers. "Daddy."

Asher crouched until he was eye level with his daughter. His smile softened, gentle enough to convince anyone watching that he hadn't raised his voice in years.

"I missed you, sweetheart." He held out one of the bags, "I saw this and thought of you."

Emma looked at Teresa before accepting it. "Thank you."

Asher brushed a strand of hair behind Emma's ear. "You don't have to ask permission to take a present from your father."

His words were quiet. Quiet enough that only Teresa heard the edge beneath them.

He stood and offered Teresa the flowers. "These are for you."

She didn't move. "I don't want them."

A teacher walking past slowed her steps.

"Oh," she said with a smile. "Mr. Grimhollow, that's so thoughtful."

Asher chuckled lightly and turned to the teacher. "I've been trying to convince Teresa that divorce doesn't mean we can't be kind to each other."

The teacher chuckled. "I wish more parents thought like that."

Teresa felt every pair of eyes drift toward her. She knew this game. If she refused the flowers, she'd look bitter.

If she accepted them, she'd be playing along. Asher waited patiently, his smile never slipping.

Finally, she took the bouquet. "Thank you."

"There she is," he said warmly. "I knew we would get there."

Another parent smiled as she walked by. "You two are setting such a good example for your daughter."

Teresa forced herself to smile back. The words scraped against her on the way out.

Emma looked from one parent to the other. "We're all going together?"

Asher rested a hand lightly on Emma's shoulder. "Not today, princess."

A school administrator approached with a clipboard.

"Mr. Grimhollow, thank you for joining the school's literacy fundraiser." She beamed. "The library will really benefit from your donation."

"Oh, it wasn't necessary," Asher replied modestly. "The children deserve the best."

The administrator shook her head. "We're very grateful."

She turned to Teresa. "You must be really proud of him."

Teresa looked at Asher, he looked back at her with the same warm expression he'd worn since arriving.

Anyone watching would have called him charming and thoughtful but she knew better.

When the administrator finally walked away, Asher lowered his voice. His eyes stayed on the crowd. "Smile like you mean it."

She stared at him with pure disdain and contempt. 

Emma tugged gently on Teresa's sleeve. "Mommy?"

Teresa immediately softened. "Yes, sweetheart?"

"I think Daddy bought me too many presents."

Before Teresa could answer, Asher laughed. "There isn't such a thing, my princess."

Emma didn't laugh with him. She hugged the shopping bag against her chest instead.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Lucas sat inside a black sedan across the street. His driver glanced toward the school entrance. "Sir?"

Lucas rested an elbow against the window. "Stay here."

"You don't want to get out?" He asked.

"Yes."

He watched Asher shake hands with teachers, watched parents smile for photographs, and he watched Teresa standing among them with flowers she clearly hadn't wanted to accept.

His phone buzzed. He ignored it.

If he walked over now, Asher would get exactly what he wanted.

A scene or a comparison between them. So Lucas stayed where he was.

The hardest thing he'd done all morning was nothing at all.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Natalie Brooks, Teresa's best friend and lawyer; Emma affectionately calls her "Aunt Natalie." She closed the conference room door behind her and placed a thick file on the table.

Teresa dropped into the nearest chair. "I'm tired"

"I know." She replied calmly.

Natalie showed her several photographs on her phone. 

School event photos, Asher smiling with Emma, Asher talking to teachers, and Asher handing over a donation cheque...

Teresa stared at them. "When did these get online?"

"About an hour ago."

Natalie pulled out her tablet. "They're already spreading."

Teresa rubbed her forehead. "So this was planned."

"Every bit of it." Natalie folded her hands together, "He's changing strategy."

"I noticed."

"He isn't trying to prove you're a bad mother anymore."

Teresa looked up. "He's trying to prove he's the better parent."

Natalie nodded. "Judges don't just look at evidence of abuse. They also look at stability, community involvement, school participation, public conduct."

She tapped one of the photographs. "Today wasn't about Emma, it was about the court."

"Exactly." Natalie muttered quickly. 

Teresa leaned back in her chair. "So telling the truth won't be enough."

Natalie didn't answer immediately. When she finally spoke, her voice was careful. "The truth matters but the court still has to believe it."

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

The drive home felt longer than usual. Emma sat quietly in the back seat, turning one of the new toys over in her lap.

After several minutes, she looked out the window and spoke so softly.

"Mommy!" She pouted her lips.

"Hm?"

Emma kept watching the passing buildings. "Why does Daddy only smile when people are watching?"

Teresa's hands tightened around the steering wheel.

She searched for an answer that wouldn't ask a six-year-old to carry an adult's pain. "I don't know, sweetheart."

Emma nodded once. "I like it when people smile because they're happy."

Teresa looked at her daughter in the rearview mirror. "So do I."

The traffic light ahead turned red. She slowed to a stop.

A black SUV rolled in behind her. When the light changed, it moved too.

She changed lanes and the SUV followed her.  

She took the next turn toward her apartment instead of her usual route, and it was still following her. This time, it wasn't a coincidence.